Funding awarded to provide more creative spaces across the borough

The Mayor of Walsall has presented a cheque worth more than £200,000 to a local non-profit business providing creative spaces across the borough

Councillor Chris Towe, the Mayor of Walsall, was joined by the Mayoress, Louisa Hughes, and Eddie Hughes, MP for Walsall North, at Urban Hax HQ in Walsall on Friday 24 November 2023 to mark the launch of a project called ‘Makernet’.      

The project has secured £227,248 in National Lottery funding and will see the establishment of three ‘mini-makerspaces’ in community locations to provide design and maker facilities to residents.    

Urban Hax commenced the project in October 2023 and hopes to open three locations in the early part of the new year.  

The Mayor of Walsall, Councillor Chris Towe, said, “It was a pleasure to visit Urban Hax HQ to hear about all the great work they do and mark the launch of their new project. I look forward to seeing the opportunities the ‘Makernet’ project will provide and how our talented residents will make use of them.”  

Councillor Adrian Andrew, Deputy Leader and Portfolio Holder for Regeneration at Walsall Council, said, “It’s great to see such a significant amount of National Lottery funding secured for the creative sector in Walsall. The Makernet project is very exciting and will provide residents with invaluable resources across the borough.    

"Walsall is a real hub of creativity and I can't wait to see what is to come from this project moving forward.”   

Geoff Henderson, Director at Urban Hax, said, “Receiving the grant from the National Lottery Communities Fund is a real endorsement for the work we’ve been doing here in the borough for the last six years.    

“This new funding for our Makernet project will provide us with the opportunity to expand our makerspace operation both in the town centre and at key locations in the borough where ‘mini-makerspaces’ will be established. This will ensure that we reach and support many more Walsall residents and help make a difference to them and to their surrounding communities.”   

Walsall Council will be working alongside Urban Hax for another project moving forward, as The Guildhall in Walsall is transformed into a vibrant Creative Industries Enterprise Centre (CIEC) as part of a £3.7 million project.   

More than just a business space, it will be a hive of creativity, with a café, gallery space for creative organisations to exhibit their work, and open to residents to engage with the space.  

For more information about The Guildhall transformation, see: https://go.walsall.gov.uk/newsroom/walsall-council-secures-ps37million-towards-its-creative-industries